Unexpected Company
by Hidden Waterbird
Summary: Jacks father makes an unexpected return.
1. Chapter 1

Jack Darby sighed as yet another car pulled away from the KO burger drive through. He really didn't like his job, he'd had it for almost a year now. Glancing at the clock Jack was happy to see only ten minutes of his shift remained. "Almost there Jack" He murmured to himself as his headset beeped, alerting him of another customer. "Welcome to KO Burger, may I take your order?"

A loud, arrogant voice responded causing Jack to mentally groan. "Yeah I'll have two fries, one double chomper and two your job sucks." The lovely customer on the other end was Vince, school bully and known harasser to the drive through.

"So the usual?" Jack replied annoyingly. "4.90 at the window." Jack made Vince's order and placed it on the window. As the teen turned his back Vince sped past and grabbed the bag of fast food. He drove off laughing as Jack spun round and stared blankly at the empty windowsill.

"Enjoy your shift, loser!"

"Great another order to pay for." Jack grumpily continued to serve customers until to his delight, the bell struck announcing the end of his shift. He stormed out of the fast food restaurant and walked to his faithful bicycle. "Arcee just had to be on a mission." He said as he climbed on and began his long bike ride home. Jack had been considering biking to base to cool off for a while but he just didn't have the energy. Eight hour shifts aren't easy. As he progressed down the road fatigue began to creep in.

Finally the grumpy, broke teen approached his house but became curious as beside his mothers car was another. A dark blue convertible to be exact. "Strange, she didn't say anything about visitors." Jack deposited his bike in the garage and continued through to the living room. "Mom I just finished my shift. Whose car was out in the-" Jack faded out as he saw June Darby sitting and laughing, with a man.

"Jack, my boy, it's good to see you." The man stood and came over to him . Shock struck him as he realized who that man was.

"Dad."


	2. Chapter 2

Jack stared at the grinning, bulky figure as he held out his arms. "Hey son." Jack stood there frozen as the man pulled him into an embrace. "It's great to see you." Jack shook his head and pushed himself out of his fathers embrace.

"No." The older man looked at him in confusion as Jack stepped back. "No, this can't be happening."

"Jack it's me, Richard. I'm back." The older man tried to hug him again but Jack pushed him back.

"NO!" Richard and June looked at Jack in shock.

June grasped her son by his shoulders and tried to look into his eyes. "Jack, what's wrong?" Jack looked up and June gasped as he rubbed away a few tears.

"You don't get it, he left, you said he'd never come back. I, I have to go." Jack broke out of June's hold and sprinted out the door.

"Jack! Come back!" Both adults ran out the front door to see the teen speeding down the road on his bike. June ran over to her car and climbed in.

"June where are you going?"

"To get my boy back, I have to explain to him what's going on. Richard, you stay here until I get back." And with that the second Darby family member sped off down the road.

Jack pedaled down the streets as fast as he could not bothering to wipe away the tears as they flowed. He looked back and in dismay saw June following him in her car. In a desperate attempt to lose her Jack swerved down an alleyway, then another and another. After a few minutes of twisting and turning Jack came to a stop in a very quiet alley. He stumbled off his bike and leant against the brick wall, breathing heavily. Flipping his cellphone open he called the Autobot base, hoping someone would pick up.

"Ratchet here."

Jack sucked in a breath and spoke shakily. "Hey, Ratchet, I, I need a groundbridge." He paused for a minute to regain his breath.

"Jack are you alright, you sound out of breath."

" I'm, fine, just need, a ground- bridge." Jack shakily climbed back on his bike, feeling incredibly light-headed.

"Opening ground bridge to your co-ordinates now. Report to me when you arrive." Jack groaned, Ratchet was always aware when something was wrong. Not that he could blame him, it was his job to know.

"Thank, you."

Jack leaned heavily on his bike as the glowing green portal opened. He pushed off the gravel and biked slowly through the groundbridge. Jack arrived at base and slowly climbed off his bike, feeling as if he'd run a marathon. He saw Miko jump off the couch and bound down to him, as perky as ever.

"Dude! Where you been? Raf got a new racing game and it's sweet as you have to try it!" Jack shook his head stumbling a bit. He was still pretty lightheaded.

"Where's Ratchet?" He breathed out, his hand pressed against his head. Miko saw this and became concerned placing a hand on his shoulder.

" He's gone to get some supplies, Jack, are you feeling alright?"

The teen nodded brushing off Miko's hand. "I'm fine, just a little lightheaded, thats all." He moved to take a step forward but found his legs giving way, falling to the ground. Miko gasped and lunged forward, managing to hold him up, but barely.

"You don't look fine." Miko said as she struggled to keep him upright She yelled out to Rafael who was still on the couch playing games. "Raf! go get Ratchet, somethings wrong with Jack!"

Raff froze, then immediately threw down the game control to race down stairs to the pair.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked, scared that something was seriously wrong.

"I dunno, he just came through the ground bridge then collapsed!" Miko grimaced, her arms beginning to ache from Jack's weight. "Just go get Ratchet!" Raff nodded then turned, running off down the hall to the storage room.

Miko dragged the barely conscious Jack over to the wall, carefully setting him down on the ground. She propped and stretched her arms to rid of the cramp from holding him his back up against the wall. She placed her hand against his forehead and gasped at the searing heat that came off it. "Please be ok." She mumbled grasping his hand and squeezing it a little. A loud thundering sound reached her ears telling her that Ratchet was on his way.

Miko crouched next to Jack, looking over him too see if an injury was the cause of his condition. The thundering got louder and Ratchet burst out of the hallway, immediately spotting Jack and Miko on the ground. He scooped up Jack and carried him over to the medical berth placing him down carefully. Miko and Raf clambered up the stairs and ran over to the berth concerned of their friends fate. "What's wrong with him Ratchet?"

Ratchet grabbed a few medical supplies and rushed back over to Jack. He began taking his pulse and scanned him a couple times for any physical damage. "From the looks of it, Jack has been under a lot of stress and his body was unable to recover from the effects of fatigue and stress, explaining his current condition."

Miko cocked her head to the side, completely lost. She tuned to Raf. "English?" She asked hopefully.

Raf rolled his eyes and walked up to one of the monitors. "What Ratchet is saying Miko that Jack is basically exhausted. We just need to let him rest and when he wakes up, we'll find out what's gotten him so tired."


End file.
